Best Downtown Building to Poke Your Head Into (2009)

Remember Sapna's Chillout Café at the downtown Phoenix Public Market? We do, because we'd actually wait in line there to taste an icy Grenada and some takeaway tahini-infused hummus. Now we go to Bragg's Pie Factory Building on Grand for the same tasty bites, but also because we love the funny, wedge-shaped interior of this groovy old structure. Owner Ana Borrajo has created a casual menu based in popular street foods from around the world, and she serves it up in a slice-of-pie-shaped glass enclosure, one of Phoenix's last examples of Streamline Moderne architecture. The Wi-Fi is free and the ambiance is unlike anyplace else. Glossy white walls hung with bright-colored Indian saris, smooth white cafe tables, leggy black chairs, and shiny stained-concrete floors all combine in a cozy slice of the past that's worth at least a peek.